


Made to Beat

by pithe



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Eventual Romance, F/M, MGiT, Modern Girl in Thedas, Slow Burn, Tags as I go, Virtual Reality, elements of cyberpunk, eventual angst, if you die in Thedas you die in real life, of a sort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-04-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:06:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23323657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pithe/pseuds/pithe
Summary: When Mel receives an offer to test out a virtual reality version of a game she used to love, she jumps at the chance to be the hero Thedas deserves. Sure, her job is to break the game, but that doesn't mean she can't enjoy herself. What she doesn't expect is that things may be exactly as they seem...What happens when the modern girl Inquisitor still thinks it's just a game?
Relationships: Cullen Rutherford/Original Female Character(s), Female Inquisitor/Cullen Rutherford
Comments: 8
Kudos: 32





	1. Testing 1 2 3

Today was the day I went to Thedas.

I'd been looking forward to this for weeks, ever since I got that first message. Dragon Age Inquisition, ported into virtual reality. It was a practically ancient game, one I'd played years and years ago as a teen, back before VR existed even as an old-fashioned headset. But I'd loved it then. So when I got the offer to beta test the port, I immediately accepted. It was a bit tricky to carve a week out of my schedule, but the dev had shown he was good for it, and I wasn't in it for the pay anyway. 

Everything was taken care of. Cat fed, roommate told not to disturb, implant set to mute all messages. I settled into my recline chair, making sure I was positioned loose and comfortably. I popped in the earpiece first. The contacts were always more annoying; I could never get them in right on the first go, and they made my eyes water. After a truly embarrassing amount of time I got them in place without itching too much. All that was left was to click the console connector into my implant, and I was ready to go.

I leaned back, flattened my hair out, closed my eyes, and tapped my earpiece.

I felt the transition before I even opened my eyes. I was no longer lying down but kneeling on a cold stone floor, shackled, with a strange warm flickering feeling in my left hand. I was in a cell. Or maybe a dungeon? The torchlight revealed several guards encircling me, the points of their swords uncomfortably close and very sharp.

I'd wondered (alright, doubted) whether an older game could really be ported to VR with any degree of quality. Those questions immediately melted away. This felt intensely and almost unpleasantly real. The bar shackling my wrists pulled down on my shoulders. Light flared in my left hand, filling my vision with bursts of green. I almost laughed out of giddiness.

The door slammed open, letting in an icy draft, which was followed by two backlit figures. I bent my head down while I got my expression under control. I was surrounded by very tense people with swords, and about to be interrogated by two grieving and suspicious women. I needed to seem innocent. I tried to put on my best 'confused and afraid' face.

The woman with the square face and long scar - Cassandra, of course - bent close enough that I could feel her breath on my cheek. "Tell me why we shouldn't kill you now."

I kept silent while I placed myself. They'd just found me in the rubble; the conclave had exploded, everyone was dead; I'd just escaped the Fade by the hand of Divine Justinia, but they didn't know that.

Cassandra grabbed my glowing hand, twisting it painfully. "Explain this!" There was fire in her eyes. I'd remembered her as intimidating, but this was a whole different level.

 _Play dumb._ "I can't," I said, with as much feeling as I could muster. "I have no idea what it is."

"You're lying!" 

_Shit._ But no, this was right, this was how it went - the other woman, Leliana, pulled her off me, asked me what I remembered.

"I was being chased, I think. There was a woman..."

That was enough to buy me some breathing room. Cassandra sent Leliana off ahead. She knelt down, mercifully releasing the metal bar from my wrists, and yanked me up. Before I could so much as rub at the chafed spots she bound them up again with rope. The haptics were perfect; I marveled a bit at how uncomfortable it felt. A lot of games dulled painful sensations, to keep things fun. (Devs figured out pretty quick that most people don't actually want to know what it feels like to get stabbed in the guts. Or at least not more than once.) I appreciated that this one wasn't pulling any punches.

I marveled more as she led me outside. My eyes took a moment to adjust to the light, but when they did, holy hell. Jagged mountain peaks ranged behind low-set buildings and swaying evergreens. Snowflakes drifted downwards; I watched one melt upon my armor. The cold stung my cheeks. And above it all, a great, giant tear in the sky, contorting the clouds into a cyclone around it. Graphics-wise, this was some A+ work.

I brought my attention back to Cassandra, who mistook my expression as awe at the rift. She explained the Breach, connected it to the mark on my spasming hand. "It is killing you. It may be the key to stopping this, but there isn't much time."

Cassandra looked at me expectantly, desperation mixed with hope in her eyes. This close, I could see the pores on her nose. A stray lock of her cropped hair drifted over her forehead. If my hands weren't bound I might have reached out to touch her. She looked so...human. She wasn't real. I knew that. This was no less artificial than any other VR game I'd ever played, even if it was extremely impressive on a technical level. 

But I'd loved this game, all those years ago, and even if it was silly my heart swelled up a bit. I'd never promised to be an impartial reviewer. Cassandra was here in front of me, and she needed my help.

Well, I sure as hell could help her.

"I'll do whatever I can," I vowed. "You have my word."

She let out a breath, nodded, grimly jerked me to my feet.

I allowed myself a smile as she marched me forward. _I'm in._

  
A few minutes and a bridge collapse later, I found myself face to face with a shade.

I'd been so caught up in jumping into Thedas, I hadn't even noticed the lack of any character selection. There was no time to think about that, either, with a demon bearing down on me. I lunged for the pile of weapons to my left. On some weird instinct, I grabbed the staff.

For a second, nothing happened, and I worried I'd chosen wrong. Then a humming filled me, resonant in my bones. Intangible waves, pulsating out from within me, met with others permeating into my skin. The hairs on my arm stood on end. Electrified.

Concentrating, my brows knit together, I willed the waves into the staff, focusing on the feeling of electricity. Lightning sprung forward. The bolts slammed into the demon, knocking it back several feet. Pieces of its skin, or whatever it was that looked like skin, sloughed off and dropped in chunks on the ground. Another hit and it dissipated into wisps, a gross lumpy pile all the remained.

This...this was power. _Oh, yes._

Cassandra planted herself in front of me, sword drawn. "Drop your weapon."

I kept my expression calm. "If I'm going to help, I need to be armed. You have to trust me."

She sighed. "You're right." She sheathed her weapon, but the frown stayed on her face. Somehow I hadn't been as reassuring as I'd meant.

She tossed me a bag of potions, which I tucked into my belt. As soon as she turned away I discreetly looked myself over. I was wearing armor, but as far as I could tell without a mirror I still looked like myself. I ran my hands over my ears. Round. I was human, then. Well, that would make things easier, if a little less interesting.

I followed Cassandra across the frozen river, letting her keep the demons occupied up close while I attacked them from afar. By focusing on the freezing cold around me I found I could shoot daggers of ice from the staff. Better and better.

When we reached the rift, I stopped short. A core of shards jutted and shifted in the air, only half there, not blinking in and out but rather going...somewhere...and back again. Repellent, wrong, and yet exerting a strange force drawing me in. 

I kept my distance as we dispatched the demons. The last one fell, and in a blink a man was grabbing my wrist, pulling me closer, lifting my palm up towards the rent in the air. A burst of green light exploded painfully from my hand. For a moment a horrible wrenching force crept up my arm. I started to panic, tried to pull back - and then it was over. The rift was gone. The sense of wrongness evaporated, leaving only a slight tingling in my palm. 

"I guess this thing really is useful," I said, straightening up. 

The bald elf smiled peaceably. "Indeed. Whatever magic opened the Breach in the sky also placed that mark upon your hand. I theorized the mark might be able to close the rifts that have opened in the Breach's wake--and it seems I was correct." Solas knit his hands together, looked me square in the eye. "It seems you hold the key to our salvation."

_Egghead, you have no idea._

"Good to know! Here I thought we'd be ass-deep in demons forever." The dwarf stepped forward and put out his hand. "Varric Tethras: rogue, storyteller, and occasionally unwelcome tagalong." 

He was even more roguishly charming in the virtual flesh, all red hair and broken nose and dashing earrings. I shook his proffered hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you." My gaze fell to the truly incredible amount of chest hair on display, and I blurted out, "Aren't you cold?"

Varric laughed. "Do you see this stocky build? I'm fine. It's elves who need to bundle up." 

"I feel perfectly warm, Varric. My name is Solas, if there are to be introductions. I am pleased to see you still live." 

"Did you play a role in that?" I asked.

Solas quirked an eyebrow. "A small one. The Breach threatens to doom us all. I am here to offer whatever aid I can." 

It was hard to square his breezy pleasantry with who I knew him to be. Nothing indicated he was anything other than a helpful apostate. I considered calling him out right there, just to see what happened, but decided against it - there would be plenty of time to test the waters. I could at least get out of the prologue before I started breaking things.

Instead I smiled, keeping my posture loose and relaxed. "A wise perspective. Thank you for your help." He thought he'd helped me, and I wasn't going to contradict him. Actually, did he think? How complex was their AI? Sentient AI was legally prohibited, and the whole industry took that as seriously as the Feds did (i.e., very), but that still left a pretty wide range of complexity. Something else to probe at.

I glanced around at my companions. Cassandra, Varric, Solas. _As they say, three's a crowd, four's a party._ "Shall we press on?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a game! What fun! Fun and games! This is gonna go great.
> 
> I found it very confusing how Cassandra releases the metal shackles and then a moment later the Herald's hands are tied with ropes. I guess Cassandra is just a master at quick knots? Maybe she got lessons from Iron Bull.


	2. Echoes and Facsimiles

Blasts fell like meteors from the breach as we picked our way to the forward camp. The ground shook on every impact, shifting the snow, and I would have slipped on the icy path if Solas hadn't grabbed my arm and held me steady. Every dozen yards we passed another cart engulfed in flames; part of me wished I could stop and enjoy the warmth. That definitely wouldn't go over well. Cassandra was nearly vibrating with anxiety, her face grim, her mouth drawn tight.

We found another rift and more demons at the top, which the four of us made quick work of. I didn't like getting close to the rift itself. Even in the middle of a simulated fantasy world it felt wrong in some intangible way, like it wasn't supposed to be there, and my left palm throbbed as I approached.

There was nothing else for it, though, so I lifted up my hand, palm forward, and took a breath. This time I tried focusing, gathering my attention the way I'd started to when using magic, and forced the flickering energy outward. It still hurt - like fire up my veins - but less so, more controlled, over faster. The rift imploded with a satisfying pop.

The guards resumed their positions by the door, behind pike barricades that were clearly hastily constructed, little more than sharpened sticks set over logs. Despite the spiked fence and the high gate, this place was no fortress. 

I opened the looming doors and almost ran headlong into several more guards. They immediately tightened their line, weapons and shields up, only relaxing when they spotted Cassandra beside me. It had always annoyed me in the original game that so many of the soldiers and minor characters looked exactly the same. These guards were all distinct, however, each clad in mismatched armor. One of them, an elf, looked quite young. Even after he lowered his weapon he remained twitchy, scanning around him and shifting from foot to foot.

A palpable tension stretched across the whole bridge. Another pike barricade. Makeshift desks. Stacked crates of who knew what. And on the other side: Chancellor Roderick. _Ugh._

"Ah, here they come," he said, straightening up from the desk. I couldn't help feeling annoyed just looking at him.

Leliana at least looked pleased to see us. "You made it. Chancellor Roderick, this is--"

"I know who she is," Roderick interrupted. Addressing Cassandra, he continued, "As Grand Chancellor of the Chantry, I hereby order you to take this criminal to Val Royeaux to face execution." I snorted. _He can't have the common courtesy to look me in the eye as he orders my death?_

Cassandra was no less annoyed. "'Order me'? You are a glorified clerk. A bureaucrat!" From the way she spat out the word she might have been calling _him_ a murderer.

"And you are a thug, but a thug who supposedly serves the Chantry!"

"We serve the Most Holy, Chancellor," Leliana cut in, then added more softly, "as you well know." She looked at Cassandra as she said it. A quiet understanding seemed to pass between the two women, a shared grief that, facsimile though it was, sent a pang through me.

"Justinia is dead! We must elect a replacement, and obey her orders on the matter." _God, how tone deaf can you be?_

Enough of this. "In the meantime, it doesn't seem like anyone takes orders from you," I said, stepping forward. "I'm told this mark is killing me, so if you want to get a chance we're going to have to deal with the Breach first."

Roderick's face turned a shade of red that nicely matched his robes. "If it's killing you it's no less than you deserve! It's hopeless, in any case. The position is lost."

"It's not hopeless so long as I'm here." Roderick would be useful later, but I didn't want to deal with him for a moment longer than necessary. "Cassandra, how do we get to the temple?"

"The quickest route is directly ahead. We must hurry!"

"But not the safest. Our forces can charge as a distraction while we go through the mountains." My soon-to-be spymaster pointed to a dizzying, zigzagging path over the nearest peak. I wondered how she was able to move so quietly in a chainmail dress.

"Listen to me," Roderick pleaded. "Abandon this now, before more lives are lost."

A thunderous crack interrupted the conversation. A pillar of twisting green energy stretched from the Breach straight down to some point in the distance, answered by a fiery crackling flare in my hand. I tried to pull up my sleeve, and only succeeded in tugging at my bracers. From what I could see, though, the mark was clearly spreading.

I looked up to find Cassandra's steady gaze meeting mine. "How do you think we should proceed?"

 _Finally._ I considered the options. If we took the mountain path, I could probably find and save those scouts, which would give an easy boost to my reputation. Stabilizing the Breach would do that either way, though. And frankly, as thrilling as it was to be face to face and feet to ground with these characters, I was starting to get tired of the cold. Better to take the faster route.

"We charge with the soldiers," I announced. "We've wasted enough time. This ends now."

At my proclamation they sprang into action. Cassandra ordered Leliana to round up whoever remained in the valley. As we passed, Roderick let out one last parting shot. "On your head be the consequences, Seeker."

I chuckled. _Don't worry, Roderick. I think I'll get the credit for those._

The ruins of a temple presented a strange battlefield.

For one thing, it smelled awful. An odor like burned meat mixed with rot permeated the courtyard. I doubled over, gagging. It took me a minute to figure out where it was coming from. On the left, behind a low wall and piles of rubble, a Chantry sister bent over two lines of corpses. Victims of the explosion, or the demons, or the blasts still raining down from the Breach. The sister spoke in a continuous low hum as she cleaned the bodies; I stepped closer, and could just barely hear: 

"Draw your last breath, my friends.  
Cross the Veil and the Fade and all the stars in the sky."

I backed away quickly. Cassandra shot me a confused look. "You are not an Andrastian? Does the Chant of Light offend you so?"

Before I could reply, Varric piped up. "Seeker, is now the time? Demons are falling from the sky." As if to punctuate his words another blast made impact just yards away, right on top of a soldier. The lifeless body rolled down the stairs. Varric gaped, horrified.

 _Oookay, let's keep moving._ I hurried forward, taking as wide a berth around the corpse as the steps allowed. I was almost relieved to see another rift ahead. Fighting demons was _fun_. The hum of magic receded when I wasn't calling on it, still there but quieter, a pleasant sensation hard to describe; it felt like I was reaching out into the world just as the world was reaching into me. Calling on it felt like standing on the beach and drawing the surf into high tide. I itched to use it more.

This rift was stronger, with more demons, and I was glad to have the extra soldiers. Solas and I fought side by side, bending the elements to our will. I cast a bolt of electricity, watched with satisfaction as it arced across three demons, then winced as it hit one of our guys. _Oops._

One of Varric's arrows took down the final demon, and I stepped forward to close the rift. This time hurt more, the fire reaching further up my forearm. For a moment white spots flickered across my vision; I felt a bit dizzy, though I kept my balance.

A voice I recognized had me turning my head a little too quickly. 

"Lady Cassandra, you managed to close the rift? Well done. Although you might tell your mages to be a little more careful." Cullen looked younger than I remembered, and also more ridiculous. His hair stuck out in all directions, and the fur about his shoulders was in total disarray. Stray sparks flickered across his armor.

"Do not congratulate me, Commander." Cassandra turned in my direction. "This is the prisoner's doing."

"Uh..." 

I tried to lower my staff, which was still crackling with electricity, only to have the other end meet resistance in the form of Varric's leg. "Hey, watch it!"

"Is it?" Cullen paused, eyes on mine, and I felt my face flush red. "I hope they're right about you. We've lost a lot of people getting you here."

 _No way but forward._ "It'll be worth it if I can get to the Breach."

Cullen's eyebrows shot up. He frowned slightly, then shifted his attention to Cassandra. "The way to the temple should be clear. Leliana will try to meet you there."

"Then we'd best move quickly. Give us time, Commander."

"Maker watch over you--for all our sakes." The remaining soldiers headed back the way we'd came. One limped, bent over, clutching his stomach. Cullen caught up with him easily. He placed the man's arm over his shoulder, taking his weight, doubling over himself to do so.

 _Buy us time from what? All the demons are this way!_

The stench of charred flesh worsened further into the temple. Corpses lay everywhere, their skin burned off, mouths open in wordless screams. Some were still upright, welded into the ground by the explosion. The retrieval efforts clearly hadn't made it this far. My armor included a fabric covering that draped across my chest and hung over my shoulders; I wasn't sure what it was there for, but holding it over my mouth and nose at least made the smell more bearable.

Leliana and her squad met us at the heart of the temple. Another rift, the largest yet, hung in the air directly centered under the Breach, a column of tendrils reaching a few thousand feet up at a guess.

"This is your chance to end this. Are you ready?" Cassandra sounded so hopeful, I couldn't bring myself to tell her this was only the beginning.

"That depends. How far up can you throw me?"

Cassandra looked at the Breach, and then back at me, as if considering it, but Solas chuckled. "That won't be necessary. This rift was the first, and it is the key. Seal it, and perhaps we seal the Breach."

"Well, it's worth a shot," I replied cheerily. Let him keep that hope.

We kept moving. Rocky spikes veined with green energy made a maze of the ruins. An explosion couldn't do that - t was as though another place had interposed itself with this one. Scattered pockets of red lyrium contrasted starkly with the green Fade energy, setting Varric on edge.

A deep voice rang out from everywhere and nowhere. "Now is the hour of our victory. Bring forth the sacrifice."

_Ah, Corypheus. Won't meet you for a while._

"Someone, help me!" That would be Divine Justinia. _Not going to meet you for even longer._

"What's going on here?"

_Wait, what?_

"That was your voice. Most Holy called out to you. But..." Cassandra trailed off.

That _was_ my voice. The echo played out before us. Justinia, suspended in the air, arms bound with magical energy. Corypheus, more shadow than figure, claw outstretched. And...me, exactly me, down to the scar on my eyebrow.

"What's going on here?"

"Kill her. Now!"

The scene evaporated. Cassandra advanced on me. "You were there! Who attacked? And the Divine, is she...? Was this vision true? What are we seeing?"

"I...don't know. I don't remember this."

It was true. I hadn't played this part, I'd started already in the Haven Chantry. It couldn't be a recording. Which meant the game had rendered me, rendered me perfectly, including recreating my voice saying things I hadn't said. 

All of that was technically possible, not even especially difficult. But it definitely wasn't allowed. Virtual recreations of actual people, including players, were strictly prohibited; those kinds of details couldn't be stored even in local files. Too much potential for misuse. Either the dev was too lazy to update the game for modern regulations, or he just didn't care. No matter which, I didn't like it.

"Let's get this over with. Leliana, get your soldiers ready," I said, moving to join Solas by the rift.

"This rift is not sealed, but it is closed, albeit temporarily," he began.

"So, open it, fight the demons, shut it again," I interrupted. "Got it."

A corner of his mouth quirked upwards. "To put it succinctly, yes."

I felt a twinge of regret at my impatience - I was in Thedas, for fuck's sake, I should enjoy it - but seeing myself reproduced had darkened my mood. I gave my teammates a moment to get into position, then tore open the rift.

Even with Leliana's squad aiding us, the fight against the pride demon took a long, long time. 

My magic wasn't inexhaustible; I was pushing outwards more than I was drawing in. The first time the ebb went low I kept pulling at it, trying to force out another fireball, only making myself weaker. Solas saw me stumble and shouted over the fighting. "You must conserve your energy! Pace yourself! Do not overdraw your mana!"

There was no blinking bar or indicator telling me when I was out of mana, though - it occurred to me that I hadn't yet seen any kind of interface. An interesting choice, but frustrating. I tried to slow down, and still multiple times I went too far, and could only wait, useless and faint, until the energy surged back within me enough to resume my attacks.  
  
The demon seemed to be drawing power from the rift. Every few minutes I sent a blast of energy to disrupt it, each time more draining than the last, until my whole forearm was aflame. By the end of it I could barely stand. I heard the demon fall, shaking the ground, and Cassandra call out. 

"Now! Seal the rift!"

I lifted my arm, willed one last push of energy. My vision filled with a blinding green light, and the last thing I felt was my head hitting the rubble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't think Mel is taking this very seriously.
> 
> It's been a long time since I've written prose. To anyone reading this, first, I am so sorry, and second, thank you! I know it's been slow so far, but bear with me and it'll pick up. I promise I'm going somewhere with this.


	3. Awakening

Warmth enveloped me. Soft fabric pressed against my cheek. The dream was already slipping away, but I didn't want to let it go, I wanted to stay like this, so warm -

A thud, the sound of glass breaking. My eyes flew open.

The first thing I saw was a lit brazier, and I quickly shifted my gaze while my eyes adjusted. I was in a cabin, wood paneled, rustic. Pelts of some unfamiliar animal hung upon the walls. In the corner a raven in a cage hopped from foot to foot, shifting its wings.

I sat up. An unnaturally thin elf stared at me, face aghast. "I didn't know you were awake, I swear!" She fell to her knees, head bowed low. "I beg your forgiveness and your blessing. I am but a humble servant."

I swung my legs off the bed and stretched out my shoulders. "Forgiveness granted. Blessing too, I guess. Where am I?"

"You are back in Haven, my Lady." She spoke directly into the carpet. "They say you saved us. The Breach stopped growing, just like the mark on your hand. It's all anyone has talked about for the last three days."

Three days. Had I really passed out?

The servant stood, keeping her body low. "I'm sure Lady Cassandra would want to know you've wakened. She said, 'at once.'" She was already inching towards the door.

"Yes, thank you, you can go," I said, waving a hand. She ran out the door, and for the first time I was alone.

The last thing I remembered was collapsing after closing the rift. And then I’d woken up here. Not just faded to black, but woken up. As far as I could tell I really had lost consciousness. Strange. 

I paced around the cabin as I considered. My experience so far had been one of complete immersion. No character creation - I'd just been dropped in as a human mage. No automatic HUD or information overlay. Was that a feature or a bug? I didn’t expect the game to be release-ready - the dev had said I was the first tester - but the basic interface should be there.

At least the combat was intuitive. I could still feel the magic energy humming in my bones. I'd figured out how to use that on my own, more or less. Maybe all the mechanics were meant to be intuitive. Interact with the world, figure it out as you go.

As a player, I loved that kind of game. As a tester, though? I was gonna ask for a raise.

Something else bothered me. In the Temple of Sacred Ashes, I'd seen myself, heard my own voice. And - I felt like an idiot for not questioning this earlier - I was in my own body: same height, same black hair, same olive skin.

I could think of two ways to do that. One would be to apply a perception filter. Create a blank space where my body was supposed to be, and draw on my own image of myself to fill it in. Except for one problem: perception filters were still theoretical. Nobody had made them work in a game before. For the dev to pull it off, he would have to be a technical god.

The other, much simpler option was to create a rendering of my physical body in virtual space. Not difficult; there were plenty of methods. But against regulations. And if the dev didn't care about those regulations, what other rules wasn't he following?

A series of croaks interrupted my thoughts. I glanced around, confused, before my eyes settled on the caged raven. It cawed louder, then, satisfied it had my attention, made a strange jerking notion with its beak. I stared. It repeated the motion several time, flapping its wings and croaking with increased agitation.

What on earth…? It was pointing towards the wall next to it, but all I could see were some closed barrels and a pile of strange fruit. Some kind of gourd I didn’t recognize. I took one and, crouching, gingerly held it out towards the bird. “Is this what you want?”

The raven lunged with its beak. I dropped the gourd and snatched my hand back. It had nipped me; a drop of blood welled from my index finger. The bird teared into the gourd, all interest in me lost. 

A crazy thought crept into my mind. 

If everything looked real, smelled real, felt real, acted real - _how did I know it wasn’t real?_

I jerked up my left sleeve, ignoring the mark on my hand and instead examined the back of my forearm. Where I expected to see a screen starting a few inches below my wrist and reaching towards my elbow, I was met with only smooth unbroken skin. No implant.

Well, that proved I wasn’t in my own body. It was frustrating in a different way, though. Most games used implants as controllers, the same way we used them for basically everything in real life. I felt a bit naked without one. But it also meant that I couldn’t use it to call up an interface or any controls. How was I supposed to save, or load, or log out?

I took a deep breath and very lightly poked a finger in my eye. No contacts. Not a surprise, considering those were just used for display, but it had been worth a shot.

That left the neural uplink. I raised a hand my right ear.

Aha! The earpiece was still there, nestled comfortably in its port in my ear canal. Not a lot of options for in-game functionality, though, given that it only had enough surface area for one button. I pressed inwards, felt it click - 

\- and found myself staring at the familiar off-white of my ceiling. I was back in my apartment.

A weight pressed down on me; I must not have closed the door completely, because my cat was snoozing away on my legs. I scratched behind her ears, then lifted her off and onto the floor, ignoring the indignant meows. 

How long had I been playing? I stood, unplugging the console connector, and crossed over to my window. Shifting aside the blinds revealed only a uniform stretch of soothing blue across the window-pane. Blackout day. Was that scheduled? I hadn’t checked. 

I pulled up the time on my implant, relishing its comforting presence. 10:08. Less than an hour, then. I flicked through my notifications. Government alert, a few messages from my mom. Nothing that needed my attention.

I paused, tapping idly on my implant. I could contact the dev right now, ask him some questions. Questions like, where was the fucking interface? And, why was my own goddamn body in the game?

I wasn’t sure the lack of any interface was a bug though - maybe the player really was supposed to figure it out intuitively as they went. I’d only just finished the prologue. He’d selected me as the first beta tester based on my reputation. If I complained this early, and it really was an intentional feature, I’d look like an amateur.

As for not following regulations, well, I didn’t like it, but what was I, a cop? I wasn’t going to turn him in, that wouldn’t go well for either of us. Plus if I said something I’d probably spook him, and then I’d lose the job, and the chance to keep playing. 

And I hadn’t even gotten to the good parts yet.

The questions could wait. I did some stretches - I wasn’t sore yet, but it was a good habit to maintain - then reconnected my implant and logged back in.

Brown eyes hovered inches away from my own.

I started, bringing my head up too quickly, and only narrowly avoided a collision by virtue of Cassandra’s quick reflexes. She held up her hands as if to show she meant no harm. “I did not mean to disturb you! I was told you were awake, but you did not come to the Chantry, so I came here to check on you…”

“Sorry, I, um, I must have fallen back asleep,” I said, rubbing my forehead. Wood paneling, animals pelts, a brazier burning low. I was in the same cabin as before. The raven had its head tucked in its wing; the remains of a gourd lay scattered about its cage.

“If you are not well you should continue to rest,” Cassandra said with concern.

“No, no, I’m fine. Shall we?” I gestured towards the door.

“Very well.” She did not look wholly reassured.

I followed her outside. Two soldiers stood guard, arms pressed against their chests in salute. Beyond them a further line of soldiers, holding the same salute, and a handful of others. I recognized the Chantry sisters by their robes; I couldn’t place the rest. 

“Look, it’s the Herald of Andraste!” I heard a man say. I sought about for the source and landed on a human, middle-aged, wearing a green tunic. He shrank back from my gaze.

“Are they afraid of me?” I asked Cassandra as we walked.

“They do not know what to make of you. You survived the Conclave when none else did, emerged from the Fade as if guided by Andraste herself. They revere you, and they also fear you.”

I liked the sound of that. “What about you? Do you think I’m the Herald of Andraste?”

Cassandra regarded me, her face serious. “You appeared in our darkest hour. I heard the Divine call to your for help. I think that the Maker sent you to us for a reason.”

“So I’m not a suspect anymore?”

“Not as far as the Inquisition is concerned. I cannot speak for the Chantry, however.” She sighed. “Leliana and I had a…discussion…with Chancellor Roderick while you slept. Forgive me. I wished you to be there, but I could only delay so long.” She clapped a hand on my shoulder. “Do not worry. You are under our protection, and no longer a prisoner. I am sorry that we must ask more of you.”

I couldn’t bring myself to regret missing another conversation with Roderick. 

“What more can I do?” I asked. Besides lead this whole operation. I chided myself. I needed to be patient, not think so far ahead. Even if I knew in broad strokes what would happen, I couldn’t let that show. I didn’t have their trust yet.

“The Breach is stable, but it is still a threat. We must try again.”

We’d arrived at the Chantry, and I realized I’d been here before. This was the spot we’d been at last time Cassandra asked me for help - four days ago, in game time, though it felt like so much less. It felt calmer now, the sky lighter. Over the mountains the Breach still swirled in the air, but the tornado of rift energy was gone, and it looked smaller, though I couldn’t be sure. Nailed to the door of the Chantry hung a long piece of parchment, an announcement of some sort; I couldn’t make out the words, but it put me in mind of Martin Luther’s ninety-five theses, if those had been covered in symbols of eyes.

Leliana stood by the door, two ravens clutching her arm. She murmured at them, head bent low, then thrust her arm forward; they gracefully spread their wings and lifted off, and her eyes tracked them into the distance. 

“Lady Trevelyan, I am glad to see you are awake,” she said as we joined her. 

It occurred to me that no-one had referred to me by name before; it was all ‘prisoner’ or, now, ‘Herald’.

“Please, call me by my given name,” I said hopefully.

“You wish me to call you Evelyn? Are we such friends already?”

Damn. I thought ‘Melanie Trevelyan’ had a nice ring to it, but no such luck.

Cassandra gestured Breach-wards. “Look around you, Herald. The Divine is dead, the Chantry is in disarray. So many Grand Clerics died at the Conclave…” She trailed off for a moment, then seemed to come back to herself. “They wish to wait for the election of a new Divine, but we cannot afford to delay. We must act now to restore order!”

“We are acting, Cassandra. She could not expect more of us.” Leliana spoke gently, and Cassandra cast her eyes down. I suddenly felt as though I was on the outside of something impenetrable.

I cleared my throat. “So this - Inquisition - is meant to restore order?”

“That is the plan,” Leliana interjected.

“Help us fix this, before it is too late.”

I clasped Cassandra’s hand, and she smiled. She didn’t relax per se, but a small bit of tension seemed to go out of her.

“I’ve sent word to some potential allies. We’ll inform you when we have a better notion of how to proceed.” Leliana was already turning away.


End file.
